RealtyTrac - Misreporting Numbers? Hurting Colorado for profit?

If your real estate broker said:

•·         This home is $200,000, plus or minus $140,000

•·         This home has 4 bedrooms, plus or minus 2.5 bedrooms

•·         This home is 2000 square feet, plus or minus 1400 square feet

Chances are, you might think that your real estate broker "never left Woodstock", and, then make the decision to find your own way back to the real estate office.

Well, it's ironic.  Why?

Because the same appropriate doubt one would have with regard to the above is totally dismissed when put on the evening news. 

I hear you saying: "What does he mean?"

Well, in the Denver Business Journal, published the annual report from RealtyTrac yesterday (source: http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/01/12/daily48.html), January 15, 2009.  RealtyTrac Inc (www.realtytrac.com) is the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, and one of the fastest-growing real estate sites on the Internet.

In that story, the following was noted, "In the past, state officials have disputed Colorado's high position in RealtyTrac's rankings, saying that because the state's public trustees report foreclosures at multiple stages of the process, RealtyTrac may overcount Colorado foreclosures. RealtyTrac officials have denied this, saying they have taken steps to ensure accurate counts."

Well, that's great to hear, but by how much?  How about 70% inaccurate?  Yes, OVER 70% inaccurate. 

Here are the citations for my statements:

Sources:

•·         Colorado Public Trustee's Website - http://www.e-ccta.org/Forms/Public%20Trustee/Sale%20Sats/2008%20foreclosures.htm

•·         RealtyTrac Press Release (dated 1/15/09) - http://www.realtytrac.com/ContentManagement/pressrelease.aspx?ChannelID=9&ItemID=5681&accnt=64847

•·         http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/01/12/daily48.html?t=printable

Public Trustees are the folks that begin a foreclosure and close out a foreclosure. 

Getting foreclosed?  You will hear from the Public Trustee. So, one would think their data is the REAL AND ONLY DATA. Right? It has to be. They implement the Foreclosure Laws in Colorado.

So, let's see how RealtyTrac deviates from the Colorado Public Trustee Association.

So, let's get this straight:

•·         Colorado Public Trustees (the folks doing the foreclosures) - show foreclosures are down 17%

•·         RealtyTrac (the company that has a vested interest in hyping foreclosures) says they are up 27.9%

Who do you believe?

Compounding this is the following regarding completed foreclosures:

•·         2007 - Overstated by RealtyTrac by 58%

•·         2008 - Overstated by RealtyTrac by 142%

When putting the corrected numbers into a national context, the following revised ranking is found for Colorado.

Please remember that this revised ranking is ASSUMING that RealtyTrac's numbers for the 49 other states and the District of Columbia is accurate. As noted, that is not a given.

Congratulations to the Denver Business Journal for noting that accuracy controversy in their article.

CONGRATULATIONS, COLORADO!  You are not number 5 in 2008. You are #23. 

So, why do I do this? I wonder aloud: How many homeowners have lost equity due to the inaccurate reporting?

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